Zimen's POV
"---ake u---"
"Wake up!"
I felt someone shake me, and I opened my eyes and saw a boy no older than sixteen in front of me. My eyes widen as I recognized who he was, and tears welled up in the corner of my eyes.
He let go of me after he saw me woke up, and he sat on my bed. He look at me hesitantly, before he sighed and looked at me straight in the eyes.
"I heard about it from my mother. She said your family will migrate to China, because of your father's job." He said, as he smiled bitterly.
"W-What?" I stuttered.
Migrate to China?
Didn't that happen seven years ago?
Wait!
Didn't I die? And so is this boy in front of me? I saw it with my own eyes how he was bitten by a zombie! But why did he look younger than I remember?
"What do you mean 'what'? I wouldn't believe you if you say your parents didn't tell you." He said, as he stood up from my bed.
"N-no, they did tell me." I said, and I saw him look at me confusedly, maybe because of my current behavior. "But they asked me for my opinion if I wanted to migrate or not. Father said, as long as I say I don't want to, we wouldn't leave."
"What's your decision then?" he asked.
"Of course, we will stay." I answered firmly, and I saw him smile.
This boy in front of me is my cousin, Kiel Cavez. My mother and Kiel's mother are sisters, we were born on the same year, and our houses were built beside each others so we grew up together.
My mother is a filipino, and so is my father. We live in the town of Agoncillo, located in Batangas, a province in the Philippines.
My father is from Manila, and he also work there, while me and my mother stay in Batangas and he go home every weekend.
My father and his parents broke their relationship because they look down on my mother. I remember being angry at them when I was a child, but now that I grew up, I found it funny.
From what I remember, my father's family belongs to the poorest of the poor. So my father worked hard to graduate without his parents to help him, he then found a job after he graduated. My mother and father met each other during their college days, and they started their relationship after they graduated.
My mother's family on the other hand, isn't rich but that doesn't mean they are poor. But compare to my paternal family, they live thousands times better than them.
My mother is the oldest child, followed by Kiel's mother, then my uncle. All of them has their own families, and my uncle also built his house beside ours.
"That's great! I asked my mother earlier, and told her to enroll me in ACI, and she said she will do it tomorrow. Do you want me to ask my mother so she will enroll you too?" He asked.
"Nah. I already did it a week ago." I replied, and he raised a brow.
"You did?"
"Yeah. School will start a month from now, and I never thought my father will have this job opportunity, so I enrolled last week." I shrugged my shoulder.
"Do you want to go with me tomorrow to buy school supplies then?" He asked.
"I will go. But I already bought mine a week ago." I agreed, pointing at the bag in my study table.
"Why you didn't tell me you will enroll and buy your things last week?" He grumbled.
"Do you suffer an amnesia?" I asked. "Your family literally just came home yesterday, from your two weeks family vacation."
"Oh yeah, we did that." He scratched the back of his head.
"Anyway, I will go down first." He stood up, and walk to the door and open it. But before he step out of the room, he turn his head to me. "You should clean yourself, especially your mouth. Ang baho mo!(you stink!)" He closed the door, while I shake my head at his behavior.
I can't see from his behavior, how he managed to survived until the end. Kiel, an American friend that we met during the apocalypse, and I are the last three people in Earth.
I got up from my bed, then walk to the bathroom, to clean myself.
I don't need to look at my phone to see the date, because from my conversation with Kiel alone I can tell the exact date.
It's July 22, 2022.
In the original timeline, my family will migrate a month from now(August 22, 2022) the same time the classes here in Philippines will start, and the apocalypse will happen a month after that.
Two years after the apocalypse started. I and Kiel met in a camp in China. He told me that a year after the apocalypse started, the Philippines fell.
Kiel, uncle, and our two younger cousins survived, and managed to board the ship that's heading to China. Unfortunately, an infected manage to slip inside the ship, and infected almost everyone in the ship, including uncle and his sons. Kiel was so angry when he saw uncle and his sons turn into a zombie, and he killed all of the zombies in the ship by himself. Earning the title of, The demon in the ship.
I on the other hand. I'm at school when the apocalypse started, my father called me just before he turn into a zombie. While I saw my mother was already one, when I reached our home.
Since father, Kiel's father, and my uncle has jobs. We have a small farm(vegetables and livestock) in our compound. We owned a large portion of land were we built our houses beside each others, that was barricade by six meters thick tall walls.
Over all, our compound is a good place for zombie apocalypse. But Kiel told me they need to leave this area, because when the apocalypse started all of them are in school, leaving aunt and my uncle's wife in the compound.
When Kiel and our two younger cousins arrived back here, it was already too late. Because their mothers were already zombies, and the compound were filled with zombies.
After I finished cleaning myself. I walked out of the bathroom, and I wasn't surprised when I saw Kiel inside my room, playing cards with my uncle's sons.
The older one is Kaiser, Kaiser Camien. He's two years younger than me, and unlike me and Kiel, he's not into sports so his a little skinny.
His younger brother on the other hand who's name is Yuan, Yuan Camien. Is six years younger than me, and he like sports like us. So even though he's just ten, there's some muscle visible in his body.
I took out some clothes from my closet, and put it on. I then noticed a piggy bank on the upper corner of my closet, and I remember I have a piggy bank around this time.
I took my piggy bank, and put it on my study table. I then opened it, using my hands since its only made of plastic. My actions attracted the attention of the other three in my room, and I sensed them walking toward me.
In seven years of apocalypse. I heightened my senses and developed different kinds of fighting skills. It seems my senses didn't change, and brought it back with me. I don't need to worry in my fighting skills, because I can still remember it in my mind.
"That's a lot!" Yuan awed, as he saw the money in front of me.
"Do you need my help?" Kiel asked, and from the corner of my eyes I saw him smiling weirdly.
"No need." I said, as I started sorting out the moneys.
"I will help you Brother Zizi." Said Kaiser.
"Okay. Count the coins while I count the paper bills." I nodded, and he started counting the coins.
"Let me help too!" Yuan also help.
"Guess I wil---"
"No. You stay there." I glared at Kiel, I know him too well, so I wouldn't let him touch this money.
"Why did you allow them but not me?!" He complained.
"Do you really not know why?" I deadpanned him, and saw his eyelids twitched.
"Fine! I will just watch some TikTok." He turn his back, and lay on my bed.
Since there's three of us. It didn't take long for us to finish counting my savings. If I remember correctly, I started saving money since the pandemic started. I didn't spend much, so I saved a lot also thanks to the two Christmas.
"32,000 plus… not bad." I grinned. "I will only need 30,000 the two of you can take the rest."
"Thanks brother Zizi!" They smiled widely.
"Hey give me some too!" Kiel chimes in.
"Ask them if they want to share it with you." I said, reaching out my phone.
I opened my phone to find out if I have money in the bank. And luckily I have, 50,000 pesos to be exact. Combining my cash, and my savings in the bank I only have 80,000 pesos.
There's eleven people in our family including the four of us, and seven of us are mens who can fight. During the apocalypse, we found out guns isn't the best weapons to use since it will attract the zombies attentions. So all of us use different kinds of melee weapons.
With eighty thousands, I can buy at least four high quality swords. Back then Kiel and I use swords as our main weapons, while I don't know what Yuan and Kaiser used since I didn't ask Kiel.
I already decided to tell my cousins all of my experiences, after I regressed since they are the people I trusted the most, beside my parents. And it will be a good choice, since Kiel once told me that Kaiser made all their plans when they were together.
"Guys I have something to say." I said, and all of them look at me.
"What is it?" Kiel asked.
"Do you believe in regression?" I asked, and they all looked at me confusedly.
"Like the things happening on animes and movies?" Kaiser asked.
"Yes. When someone return to his much younger self." I nodded.
"Oh? Don't tell me you're like that?" Kiel asked seriously, the playfulness in his voice were gone.
Although Kiel always acted like a brat. Doesn't mean, that's his true personality. That bratty attitude of his, was only a cover to his calculative and perceptive personality, that only the four of us knew.
"As expected of you." I chuckled, "As for your question, yes."
"So that's why…" he chuckled.
"What do you mean by that, brother Kiel?" Yuan asked.
"So it's not only me who sensed something wrong." Kaiser also chuckled. And Yuan look at him confusedly.
"So what's your story?" Kiel asked, as he gestured everyone to sit.
"Let's start what happened today, during my first life…"